Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Aligning and Distributing Objects

Info

Publication number: 20120026100
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 30, 2010
Publication Date: Feb 2, 2012
Inventors: Charles J. Migos (San Bruno, CA), Jay Christopher Capela (Santa Cruz, CA), William John Thimbleby (Sunnyvale, CA)
Application Number: 12/848,087

Abstract

At a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, a plurality of objects are displayed on the display. The device detects a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface. While detecting the first contact, the device detects a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. In response to detecting the first gesture, the device determines a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The device determines an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis, and repositions one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

Description

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

This relates generally to electronic devices with touch-sensitive surfaces, including but not limited to electronic devices with touch-sensitive surfaces that are used to align and/or distribute objects in a user interface.

BACKGROUND

The use of touch-sensitive surfaces as input devices for computers and other electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recent years. Exemplary touch-sensitive surfaces include touch pads and touch screen displays. Such surfaces are widely used to manipulate user interface objects on a display.

Exemplary manipulations include adjusting the alignment and/or distribution of one or more user interface objects. Exemplary user interface objects include digital images, video, text, icons, and other graphics. A user may need to perform such manipulations on user interface objects in a file management program (e.g., Finder from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), an image management application (e.g., Aperture or iPhoto from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a digital content (e.g., videos and music) management application (e.g., iTunes from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a drawing application, a presentation application (e.g., Keynote from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a word processing application (e.g., Pages from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a website creation application (e.g., iWeb from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), a disk authoring application (e.g., iDVD from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.), or a spreadsheet application (e.g., Numbers from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.).

But existing methods for performing these manipulations are cumbersome and inefficient. For example, using a sequence of mouse-based inputs to align and/or distribute one or more selected user interface objects is tedious and creates a significant cognitive burden on a user. In addition, existing methods take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy. This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, there is a need for computing devices with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for aligning and/or distributing objects using two or more simultaneous user inputs, such as two simultaneous inputs on a track pad or touch screen, or simultaneous inputs from a touch-sensitive surface and a mouse. Such methods and interfaces may complement or replace conventional methods for aligning and/or distributing objects. Such methods and interfaces reduce the cognitive burden on a user and produce a more efficient human-machine interface. For battery-operated computing devices, such methods and interfaces conserve power and increase the time between battery charges.

The above deficiencies and other problems associated with user interfaces for computing devices with touch-sensitive surfaces are reduced or eliminated by the disclosed devices. In some embodiments, the device is a desktop computer. In some embodiments, the device is portable (e.g., a notebook computer, tablet computer, or handheld device). In some embodiments, the device has a touchpad. In some embodiments, the device has a touch-sensitive display (also known as a “touch screen” or “touch screen display”). In some embodiments, the device has a graphical user interface (GUI), one or more processors, memory and one or more modules, programs or sets of instructions stored in the memory for performing multiple functions. In some embodiments, the user interacts with the GUI primarily through finger contacts and gestures on the touch-sensitive surface. In some embodiments, the functions may include image editing, drawing, presenting, word processing, website creating, disk authoring, spreadsheet making, game playing, telephoning, video conferencing, e-mailing, instant messaging, workout support, digital photographing, digital videoing, web browsing, digital music playing, and/or digital video playing. Executable instructions for performing these functions may be included in a computer readable storage medium or other computer program product configured for execution by one or more processors.

In accordance with some embodiments, a multifunction device includes a display, a touch-sensitive surface, one or more processors, memory, and one or more programs. The one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or more programs include instructions for displaying a plurality of objects on the display and detecting a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The one or more programs also include instructions for, while detecting the first contact, detecting a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The one or more programs further include instructions for, in response to detecting the first gesture: determining a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a method is performed at a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface. The method includes: displaying a plurality of objects on the display and detecting a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The method also includes, while detecting the first contact, detecting a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The method further includes, in response to detecting the first gesture: determining a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a computer readable storage medium has stored therein instructions which when executed by a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to: display a plurality of objects on the display and detect a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The instructions also cause the device to, while detecting the first contact, detect a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The instructions further cause the device to, in response to detecting the first gesture: determine a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determine an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and reposition one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a graphical user interface on a multifunction device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, a memory, and one or more processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory includes a plurality of objects. A first contact is detected on the touch-sensitive surface. While detecting the first contact, a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface is detected. In response to detecting the first gesture: a contact axis is determined based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; an object-alignment axis is determined based on the contact axis; and one or more of the objects are repositioned so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a multifunction device includes: a display; a touch-sensitive surface; means for displaying a plurality of objects on the display and means for detecting a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The multifunction device also includes means for, while detecting the first contact, detecting a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The multifunction device further includes means, responsive to detecting the first gesture, for: determining a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, an information processing apparatus for use in a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface includes: means for displaying a plurality of objects on the display and means for detecting a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The information processing apparatus also includes means for, while detecting the first contact, detecting a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. The information processing apparatus further includes means, responsive to detecting the first gesture, for: determining a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a multifunction device includes a display, a touch-sensitive surface, one or more processors, memory, and one or more programs. The one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or more programs include instructions for: displaying a plurality of objects on the display and detecting a first gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, where the first gesture includes a first contact and a second contact. The one or more programs also include instructions for, in response to detecting the first gesture: determining a contact axis based on a location of the first contact relative to a location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis. The one or more programs further includes instructions for, while the first contact and the second contact continue to be detected on the touch-sensitive surface, detecting a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the first contact and the second contact; and in response to detecting the second gesture: determining an updated contact axis based on an updated location of the first contact relative to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a method is performed at a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface. The method includes: displaying a plurality of objects on the display and detecting a first gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, where the first gesture includes a first contact and a second contact. The method also includes, in response to detecting the first gesture: determining a contact axis based on a location of the first contact relative to a location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis. The method further includes, while the first contact and the second contact continue to be detected on the touch-sensitive surface: detecting a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the first contact and the second contact; and in response to detecting the second gesture: determining an updated contact axis based on an updated location of the first contact relative to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a computer readable storage medium has stored therein instructions which when executed by a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to: display a plurality of objects on the display and detect a first gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, where the first gesture includes a first contact and a second contact. The instructions also cause the device to, in response to detecting the first gesture, determine a contact axis based on a location of the first contact relative to a location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determine an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and reposition one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis. The instructions further cause the device to, while the first contact and the second contact continue to be detected on the touch-sensitive surface: detect a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the first contact and the second contact; and in response to detecting the second gesture: determine an updated contact axis based on an updated location of the first contact relative to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determine an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis; and reposition one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a graphical user interface on a multifunction device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, a memory, and one or more processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory includes a plurality of objects. A first gesture is detected on the touch-sensitive surface, where the first gesture includes a first contact and a second contact. In response to detecting the first gesture: a contact axis is determined based on a location of the first contact relative to a location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; an object-alignment axis is determined based on the contact axis; and one or more of the objects are repositioned so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis. While the first contact and the second contact continue to be detected on the touch-sensitive surface: a second gesture is detected that includes movement of one or more of the first contact and the second contact, and in response to detecting the second gesture: an updated contact axis is determined based on an updated location of the first contact relative to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; an updated object-alignment axis is determined based on the updated contact axis; and one or more of the objects are repositioned so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, a multifunction device includes: a display; a touch-sensitive surface; means for displaying a plurality of objects on the display and means for detecting a first gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, where the first gesture includes a first contact and a second contact. The multifunction device also includes means, responsive to detecting the first gesture, for: determining a contact axis based on a location of the first contact relative to a location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis. The multifunction device further includes means for, while the first contact and the second contact continue to be detected on the touch-sensitive surface: detecting a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the first contact and the second contact and means responsive to detecting the second gesture, for: determining an updated contact axis based on an updated location of the first contact relative to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis.

In accordance with some embodiments, an information processing apparatus for use in a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface includes: means for displaying a plurality of objects on the display and means for detecting a first gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, where the first gesture includes a first contact and a second contact. The information processing apparatus also includes means, responsive to detecting the first gesture, for: determining a contact axis based on a location of the first contact relative to a location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis. The information processing apparatus further includes means for, while the first contact and the second contact continue to be detected on the touch-sensitive surface: detecting a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the first contact and the second contact and means responsive to detecting the second gesture, for: determining an updated contact axis based on an updated location of the first contact relative to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis.

Thus, multifunction devices with displays and touch-sensitive surfaces are provided with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for aligning and/or distributing objects, thereby increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction with such devices. Such methods and interfaces may complement or replace conventional methods for aligning and/or distributing objects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the aforementioned embodiments of the invention as well as additional embodiments thereof, reference should be made to the Description of Embodiments below, in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams illustrating portable multifunction devices with touch-sensitive displays in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for event handling in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screen in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate exemplary user interfaces for a menu of applications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4C illustrates an exemplary user interface for a multifunction device with a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 5A-5T illustrate exemplary user interfaces for aligning and/or distributing objects in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6D are flow diagrams illustrating a method of aligning and/or distributing objects in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 7A-7D are flow diagrams illustrating a method of aligning and/or distributing objects in accordance with some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Many electronic devices display user interface objects. A user often interacts with such objects by repositioning them on the display. In some cases, the user will want to align and/or distribute at least a subset of these objects. A user may perform many alignment and/or distribution operations with different subsets of objects. Thus, to reduce the cognitive burden on a user and to create a faster, more efficient human-machine interface, it is advantageous to have a user interface that enables the user to quickly and efficiently perform alignment and/or distribution operations on user interface objects. In some of the embodiments described below, such an improved object alignment and/or object distribution user interface is achieved by, while detecting a first contact, detecting a gesture that includes two contacts (e.g., the first contact and a second contact or two other contacts that are distinct from the first contact); determining a contact axis between the two other contacts; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis; and optionally adjusting the object-alignment axis in accordance with movement of the two contacts. Thus, a user is able to align and/or distribute objects along an axis using a simple multi-finger gesture, without needing to use more cumbersome methods, such as viewing, navigating, and activating commands in a pop-up or pull-down menu.

Below, FIGS. 1A-1C, 2, and 3 provide a description of exemplary devices. FIGS. 4A-4C, 5A-5T. FIGS. 6A-6D and 7A-7D are flow diagrams illustrating a method of aligning and/or distributing objects. The user interfaces in FIGS. 5A-5T are used to illustrate the processes in FIGS. 6A-6D and 7A-7D.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a first contact, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The first contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the same contact.

The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description of the invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],” depending on the context.

As used herein, the term “resolution” of a display refers to the number of pixels (also called “pixel counts” or “pixel resolution”) along each axis or in each dimension of the display. For example, a display may have a resolution of 320×480 pixels. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “resolution” of a multifunction device refers to the resolution of a display in the multifunction device. The term “resolution” does not imply any limitations on the size of each pixel or the spacing of pixels. For example, compared to a first display with a 1024×768-pixel resolution, a second display with a 320×480-pixel resolution has a lower resolution. However, it should be noted that the physical size of a display depends not only on the pixel resolution, but also on many other factors, including the pixel size and the spacing of pixels. Therefore, the first display may have the same, smaller, or larger physical size, compared to the second display.

As used herein, the term “video resolution” of a display refers to the density of pixels along each axis or in each dimension of the display. The video resolution is often measured in a dots-per-inch (DPI) unit, which counts the number of pixels that can be placed in a line within the span of one inch along a respective dimension of the display.

Embodiments of computing devices, user interfaces for such devices, and associated processes for using such devices are described. In some embodiments, the computing device is a portable communications device, such as a mobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/or music player functions. Exemplary embodiments of portable multifunction devices include, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable devices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitive surfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touch pads), may also be used. It should also be understood that, in some embodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but is a desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screen display and/or a touch pad).

In the discussion that follows, a computing device that includes a display and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should be understood, however, that the computing device may include one or more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, a mouse and/or a joystick.

The device supports a variety of applications, such as one or more of the following: a drawing application, a presentation application, a word processing application, a website creation application, a disk authoring application, a spreadsheet application, a gaming application, a telephone application, a video conferencing application, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, a workout support application, a photo management application, a digital camera application, a digital video camera application, a web browsing application, a digital music player application, and/or a digital video player application.

The various applications that may be executed on the device may use at least one common physical user-interface device, such as the touch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitive surface as well as corresponding information displayed on the device may be adjusted and/or varied from one application to the next and/or within a respective application. In this way, a common physical architecture (such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the device may support the variety of applications with user interfaces that are intuitive and transparent to the user.

The user interfaces may include one or more soft keyboard embodiments. The soft keyboard embodiments may include standard (QWERTY) and/or non-standard configurations of symbols on the displayed icons of the keyboard, such as those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/459,606, “Keyboards For Portable Electronic Devices,” filed Jul. 24, 2006, and Ser. No. 11/459,615, “Touch Screen Keyboards For Portable Electronic Devices,” filed Jul. 24, 2006, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. The keyboard embodiments may include a reduced number of icons (or soft keys) relative to the number of keys in existing physical keyboards, such as that for a typewriter. This may make it easier for users to select one or more icons in the keyboard, and thus, one or more corresponding symbols. The keyboard embodiments may be adaptive. For example, displayed icons may be modified in accordance with user actions, such as selecting one or more icons and/or one or more corresponding symbols. One or more applications on the device may utilize common and/or different keyboard embodiments. Thus, the keyboard embodiment used may be tailored to at least some of the applications. In some embodiments, one or more keyboard embodiments may be tailored to a respective user. For example, one or more keyboard embodiments may be tailored to a respective user based on a word usage history (lexicography, slang, individual usage) of the respective user. Some of the keyboard embodiments may be adjusted to reduce a probability of a user error when selecting one or more icons, and thus one or more symbols, when using the soft keyboard embodiments.

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices with touch-sensitive displays. FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams illustrating portable multifunction devices 100 with touch-sensitive displays 112 in accordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitive display 112 is sometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience, and may also be known as or called a touch-sensitive display system. Device 100 may include memory 102 (which may include one or more computer readable storage mediums), memory controller 122, one or more processing units (CPU's) 120, peripherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem 106, other input or control devices 116, and external port 124. Device 100 may include one or more optical sensors 164. These components may communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines 103.

It should be appreciated that device 100 is only one example of a portable multifunction device, and that device 100 may have more or fewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or may have a different configuration or arrangement of the components. The various components shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits.

Memory 102 may include high-speed random access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices. Access to memory 102 by other components of device 100, such as CPU 120 and the peripherals interface 118, may be controlled by memory controller 122.

Peripherals interface 118 can be used to couple input and output peripherals of the device to CPU 120 and memory 102. The one or more processors 120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions for device 100 and to process data.

In some embodiments, peripherals interface 118, CPU 120, and memory controller 122 may be implemented on a single chip, such as chip 104. In some other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals, also called electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 may include well-known circuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RF circuitry 108 may communicate with networks, such as the Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may use any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document.

Audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, and microphone 113 provide an audio interface between a user and device 100. Audio circuitry 110 receives audio data from peripherals interface 118, converts the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 111. Speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves. Audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted by microphone 113 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 110 converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to peripherals interface 118 for processing. Audio data may be retrieved from and/or transmitted to memory 102 and/or RF circuitry 108 by peripherals interface 118. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 110 also includes a headset jack (e.g., 212, FIG. 2). The headset jack provides an interface between audio circuitry 110 and removable audio input/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., a microphone).

I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on device 100, such as touch screen 112 and other input control devices 116, to peripherals interface 118. I/O subsystem 106 may include display controller 156 and one or more input controllers 160 for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers 160 receive/send electrical signals from/to other input or control devices 116. The other input control devices 116 may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s) 160 may be coupled to any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, infrared port, USB port, and a pointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g., 208, FIG. 2) may include an up/down button for volume control of speaker 111 and/or microphone 113. The one or more buttons may include a push button (e.g., 206, FIG. 2). A quick press of the push button may disengage a lock of touch screen 112 or begin a process that uses gestures on the touch screen to unlock the device, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/322,549, “Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on an Unlock Image,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. A longer press of the push button (e.g., 206) may turn power to device 100 on or off. The user may be able to customize a functionality of one or more of the buttons. Touch screen 112 is used to implement virtual or soft buttons and one or more soft keyboards.

Touch-sensitive display 112 provides an input interface and an output interface between the device and a user. Display controller 156 receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 112. Touch screen 112 displays visual output to the user. The visual output may include graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output may correspond to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set of sensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact. Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 (along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detect contact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen 112 and converts the detected contact into interaction with user-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages or images) that are displayed on touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, a point of contact between touch screen 112 and the user corresponds to a finger of the user.

Touch screen 112 may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 may detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112 may be analogous to the multi-touch-sensitive touchpads described in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932 (Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However, touch screen 112 displays visual output from portable device 100, whereas touch-sensitive touchpads do not provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of touch screen 112 may be as described in the following applications: (1) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller,” filed May 2, 2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862, “Multipoint Touchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jul. 30, 2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,264, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical User Interfaces For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,758, “Virtual Input Device Placement On A Touch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (7) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of A Computer With A Touch Screen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of A Touch-Screen Virtual Keyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” filed Mar. 3, 2006. All of these applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

Touch screen 112 may have a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi. In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution of approximately 160 dpi. The user may make contact with touch screen 112 using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to work primarily with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translates the rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired by the user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 100 may include a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from touch screen 112 or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.

In some embodiments, device 100 may include a physical or virtual wheel (e.g., a click wheel) as input control device 116. A user may navigate among and interact with one or more graphical objects (e.g., icons) displayed in touch screen 112 by rotating the click wheel or by moving a point of contact with the click wheel (e.g., where the amount of movement of the point of contact is measured by its angular displacement with respect to a center point of the click wheel). The click wheel may also be used to select one or more of the displayed icons. For example, the user may press down on at least a portion of the click wheel or an associated button. User commands and navigation commands provided by the user via the click wheel may be processed by input controller 160 as well as one or more of the modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102. For a virtual click wheel, the click wheel and click wheel controller may be part of touch screen 112 and display controller 156, respectively. For a virtual click wheel, the click wheel may be either an opaque or semitransparent object that appears and disappears on the touch screen display in response to user interaction with the device. In some embodiments, a virtual click wheel is displayed on the touch screen of a portable multifunction device and operated by user contact with the touch screen.

Device 100 also includes power system 162 for powering the various components. Power system 162 may include a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 100 may also include one or more optical sensors 164. FIGS. 1A and 1B show an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 158 in I/O subsystem 106. Optical sensor 164 may include charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors. Optical sensor 164 receives light from the environment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the light to data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module 143 (also called a camera module), optical sensor 164 may capture still images or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the back of device 100, opposite touch screen display 112 on the front of the device, so that the touch screen display may be used as a viewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of the device so that the user's image may be obtained for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conference participants on the touch screen display. In some embodiments, the position of optical sensor 164 can be changed by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens and the sensor in the device housing) so that a single optical sensor 164 may be used along with the touch screen display for both video conferencing and still and/or video image acquisition.

Device 100 may also include one or more proximity sensors 166. FIGS. 1A and 1B show proximity sensor 166 coupled to peripherals interface 118. Alternately, proximity sensor 166 may be coupled to input controller 160 in I/O subsystem 106. Proximity sensor 166 may perform as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/241,839, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/240,788, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device”; Ser. No. 11/620,702, “Using Ambient Light Sensor To Augment Proximity Sensor Output”; Ser. No. 11/586,862, “Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices”; and Ser. No. 11/638,251, “Methods And Systems For Automatic Configuration Of Peripherals,” which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turns off and disables touch screen 112 when the multifunction device is placed near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

Device 100 may also include one or more accelerometers 168. FIGS. 1A and 1B show accelerometer 168 coupled to peripherals interface 118. Alternately, accelerometer 168 may be coupled to an input controller 160 in I/O subsystem 106. Accelerometer 168 may perform as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050190059, “Acceleration-based Theft Detection System for Portable Electronic Devices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060017692, “Methods And Apparatuses For Operating A Portable Device Based On An Accelerometer,” both of which are which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. In some embodiments, information is displayed on the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers. Device 100 optionally includes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 168, a magnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver (not shown) for obtaining information concerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of device 100.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102 include operating system 126, communication module (or set of instructions) 128, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130, graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, text input module (or set of instructions) 134, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set of instructions) 135, and applications (or sets of instructions) 136. Furthermore, in some embodiments memory 102 stores device/global internal state 157, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 3. Device/global internal state 157 includes one or more of: active application state, indicating which applications, if any, are currently active; display state, indicating what applications, views or other information occupy various regions of touch screen display 112; sensor state, including information obtained from the device's various sensors and input control devices 116; and location information concerning the device's location and/or attitude.

Operating system 126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components.

Communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports 124 and also includes various software components for handling data received by RF circuitry 108 and/or external port 124. External port 124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin) connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the 30-pin connector used on iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 130 may detect contact with touch screen 112 (in conjunction with display controller 156) and other touch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). Contact/motion module 130 includes various software components for performing various operations related to detection of contact, such as determining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-down event), determining if there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased (e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact). Contact/motion module 130 receives contact data from the touch-sensitive surface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which is represented by a series of contact data, may include determining speed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point of contact. These operations may be applied to single contacts (e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g., “multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments, contact/motion module 130 and display controller 156 detects contact on a touchpad. In some embodiments, contact/motion module 130 and controller 160 detects contact on a click wheel.

Contact/motion module 130 may detect a gesture input by a user. Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contact patterns. Thus, a gesture may be detected by detecting a particular contact pattern. For example, detecting a finger tap gesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting a finger-up (lift off) event at the same position (or substantially the same position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of an icon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on the touch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequently followed by detecting a finger-up (lift off) event.

Graphics module 132 includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 112 or other display, including components for changing the intensity of graphics that are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics” includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 132 stores data representing graphics to be used. Each graphic may be assigned a corresponding code. Graphics module 132 receives, from applications etc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with, if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and then generates screen image data to output to display controller 156.

Text input module 134, which may be a component of graphics module 132, provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications (e.g., contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, browser 147, and any other application that needs text input).

GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and provides this information for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138 for use in location-based dialing, to camera 143 as picture/video metadata, and to applications that provide location-based services such as weather widgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Applications 136 may include the following modules (or sets of instructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or contact list);
telephone module 138;
video conferencing module 139;
e-mail client module 140;
instant messaging (IM) module 141;
workout support module 142;
camera module 143 for still and/or video images;
image management module 144;
video player module 145;
music player module 146;
browser module 147;
calendar module 148;
widget modules 149, which may include one or more of: weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created widgets 149-6;
widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6;
search module 151;
video and music player module 152, which merges video player module 145 and music player module 146;
notes module 153;
map module 154; and/or
online video module 155.

Examples of other applications 136 that may be stored in memory 102 include other word processing applications, other image editing applications, drawing applications, presentation applications, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, contacts module 137 may be used to manage an address book or contact list (e.g., stored in application internal state 192 of contacts module 137 in memory 102 or memory 370), including: adding name(s) to the address book; deleting name(s) from the address book; associating telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), physical address(es) or other information with a name; associating an image with a name; categorizing and sorting names; providing telephone numbers or e-mail addresses to initiate and/or facilitate communications by telephone 138, video conference 139, e-mail 140, or IM 141; and so forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, telephone module 138 may be used to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to a telephone number, access one or more telephone numbers in address book 137, modify a telephone number that has been entered, dial a respective telephone number, conduct a conversation and disconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed. As noted above, the wireless communication may use any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, contact list 137, and telephone module 138, videoconferencing module 139 includes executable instructions to initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a user and one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, e-mail client module 140 includes executable instructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response to user instructions. In conjunction with image management module 144, e-mail client module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mails with still or video images taken with camera module 143.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, the instant messaging module 141 includes executable instructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to an instant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit a respective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-based instant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-based instant messages), to receive instant messages and to view received instant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or received instant messages may include graphics, photos, audio files, video files and/or other attachments as are supported in a MMS and/or an Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging” refers to both telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, GPS module 135, map module 154, and music player module 146, workout support module 142 includes executable instructions to create workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burning goals); communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receive workout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; select and play music for a workout; and display, store and transmit workout data.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and image management module 144, camera module 143 includes executable instructions to capture still images or video (including a video stream) and store them into memory 102, modify characteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image or video from memory 102.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and camera module 143, image management module 144 includes executable instructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate, label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), and store still and/or video images.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, and speaker 111, video player module 145 includes executable instructions to display, present or otherwise play back videos (e.g., on touch screen 112 or on an external, connected display via external port 124).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, music player module 146 includes executable instructions that allow the user to download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored in one or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files. In some embodiments, device 100 may include the functionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, browser module 147 includes executable instructions to browse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, including searching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portions thereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147, calendar module 148 includes executable instructions to create, display, modify, and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g., calendar entries, to do lists, etc.) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and browser module 147, widget modules 149 are mini-applications that may be downloaded and used by a user (e.g., weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or created by the user (e.g., user-created widget 149-6). In some embodiments, a widget includes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In some embodiments, a widget includes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file (e.g., Yahoo! Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150 may be used by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning a user-specified portion of a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, search module 151 includes executable instructions to search for text, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 102 that match one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specified search terms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, notes module 153 includes executable instructions to create and manage notes, to do lists, and the like in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, map module 154 may be used to receive, display, modify, and store maps and data associated with maps (e.g., driving directions; data on stores and other points of interest at or near a particular location; and other location-based data) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147, online video module 155 includes instructions that allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., by streaming and/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or on an external, connected display via external port 124), send an e-mail with a link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage online videos in one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments, instant messaging module 141, rather than e-mail client module 140, is used to send a link to a particular online video. Additional description of the online video application can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/936,562, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20, 2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/968,067, “Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Playing Online Videos,” filed Dec. 31, 2007, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to a set of executable instructions for performing one or more functions described above and the methods described in this application (e.g., the computer-implemented methods and other information processing methods described herein). These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments. For example, video player module 145 may be combined with music player module 146 into a single module (e.g., video and music player module 152, FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, memory 102 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 102 may store additional modules and data structures not described above.

In some embodiments, device 100 is a device where operation of a predefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/or a touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device 100, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons, dials, and the like) on device 100 may be reduced.

The predefined set of functions that may be performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad include navigation between user interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user, navigates device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any user interface that may be displayed on device 100. In such embodiments, the touchpad may be referred to as a “menu button.” In some other embodiments, the menu button may be a physical push button or other physical input control device instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for event handling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 102 (in FIGS. 1A and 1B) or 370 (FIG. 3) includes event sorter 170 (e.g., in operating system 126) and a respective application 136-1 (e.g., any of the aforementioned applications 137-151, 155, 380-390).

Event sorter 170 receives event information and determines the application 136-1 and application view 191 of application 136-1 to which to deliver the event information. Event sorter 170 includes event monitor 171 and event dispatcher module 174. In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes application internal state 192, which indicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch-sensitive display 112 when the application is active or executing. In some embodiments, device/global internal state 157 is used by event sorter 170 to determine which application(s) is(are) currently active, and application internal state 192 is used by event sorter 170 to determine application views 191 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 192 includes additional information, such as one or more of: resume information to be used when application 136-1 resumes execution, user interface state information that indicates information being displayed or that is ready for display by application 136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back to a prior state or view of application 136-1, and a redo/undo queue of previous actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 171 receives event information from peripherals interface 118. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., a user touch on touch-sensitive display 112, as part of a multi-touch gesture). Peripherals interface 118 transmits information it receives from I/O subsystem 106 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 166, accelerometer(s) 168, and/or microphone 113 (through audio circuitry 110). Information that peripherals interface 118 receives from I/O subsystem 106 includes information from touch-sensitive display 112 or a touch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 171 sends requests to the peripherals interface 118 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripherals interface 118 transmits event information. In other embodiments, peripheral interface 118 transmits event information only when there is a significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predetermined noise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments, event sorter 170 also includes a hit view determination module 172 and/or an active event recognizer determination module 173.

Hit view determination module 172 provides software procedures for determining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more views, when touch-sensitive display 112 displays more than one view. Views are made up of controls and other elements that a user can see on the display.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is a set of views, sometimes herein called application views or user interface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-based gestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) in which a touch is detected may correspond to programmatic levels within a programmatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example, the lowest level view in which a touch is detected may be called the hit view, and the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs may be determined based, at least in part, on the hit view of the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 172 receives information related to sub-events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multiple views organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 172 identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which should handle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowest level view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (i.e., the first sub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potential event). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determination module, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related to the same touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit view.

Active event recognizer determination module 173 determines which view or views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determination module 173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizer determination module 173 determines that all views that include the physical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, and therefore determines that all actively involved views should receive a particular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touch sub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with one particular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain as actively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 174 dispatches the event information to an event recognizer (e.g., event recognizer 180). In embodiments including active event recognizer determination module 173, event dispatcher module 174 delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined by active event recognizer determination module 173. In some embodiments, event dispatcher module 174 stores in an event queue the event information, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver module 182.

In some embodiments, operating system 126 includes event sorter 170. Alternatively, application 136-1 includes event sorter 170. In yet other embodiments, event sorter 170 is a stand-alone module, or a part of another module stored in memory 102, such as contact/motion module 130.

In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes a plurality of event handlers 190 and one or more application views 191, each of which includes instructions for handling touch events that occur within a respective view of the application's user interface. Each application view 191 of the application 136-1 includes one or more event recognizers 180. Typically, a respective application view 191 includes a plurality of event recognizers 180. In other embodiments, one or more of event recognizers 180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interface kit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 136-1 inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respective event handler 190 includes one or more of: data updater 176, object updater 177, GUI updater 178, and/or event data 179 received from event sorter 170. Event handler 190 may utilize or call data updater 176, object updater 177 or GUI updater 178 to update the application internal state 192. Alternatively, one or more of the application views 191 includes one or more respective event handlers 190. Also, in some embodiments, one or more of data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178 are included in a respective application view 191.

A respective event recognizer 180 receives event information (e.g., event data 179) from event sorter 170, and identifies an event from the event information. Event recognizer 180 includes event receiver 182 and event comparator 184. In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 also includes at least a subset of: metadata 183, and event delivery instructions 188 (which may include sub-event delivery instructions).

Event receiver 182 receives event information from event sorter 170. The event information includes information about a sub-event, for example, a touch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the event information also includes additional information, such as location of the sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch the event information may also include speed and direction of the sub-event. In some embodiments, events include rotation of the device from one orientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation, or vice versa), and the event information includes corresponding information about the current orientation (also called device attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 184 compares the event information to predefined event or sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines an event or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event or sub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 184 includes event definitions 186. Event definitions 186 contain definitions of events (e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1 (187-1), event 2 (187-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events in an event 187 include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touch movement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, the definition for event 1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object. The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first lift-off (touch end) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second lift-off (touch end) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition for event 2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, for example, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitive display 112, and lift-off of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments, the event also includes information for one or more associated event handlers 190.

In some embodiments, event definition 187 includes a definition of an event for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interface object is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an application view in which three user-interface objects are displayed on touch-sensitive display 112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitive display 112, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which of the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch (sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respective event handler 190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit test to determine which event handler 190 should be activated. For example, event comparator 184 selects an event handler associated with the sub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event 187 also includes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event information until after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-events does or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 180 determines that the series of sub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 186, the respective event recognizer 180 enters an event impossible, event failed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequent sub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other event recognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue to track and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 includes metadata 183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how the event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to actively involved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how event recognizers may interact with one another. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varying levels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 activates event handler 190 associated with an event when one or more particular sub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 delivers event information associated with the event to event handler 190. Activating an event handler 190 is distinct from sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view. In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 throws a flag associated with the recognized event, and event handler 190 associated with the flag catches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 188 include sub-event delivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-event without activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event delivery instructions deliver event information to event handlers associated with the series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlers associated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved views receive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 176 creates and updates data used in application 136-1. For example, data updater 176 updates the telephone number used in contacts module 137, or stores a video file used in video player module 145. In some embodiments, object updater 177 creates and updates objects used in application 136-1. For example, object updater 176 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of a user-interface object. GUI updater 178 updates the GUI. For example, GUI updater 178 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module 132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 190 includes or has access to data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178. In some embodiments, data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178 are included in a single module of a respective application 136-1 or application view 191. In other embodiments, they are included in two or more software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding event handling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies to other forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 100 with input-devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens, e.g., coordinating mouse movement and mouse button presses with or without single or multiple keyboard presses or holds, user movements taps, drags, scrolls, etc., on touch-pads, pen stylus inputs, movement of the device, oral instructions, detected eye movements, biometric inputs, and/or any combination thereof, which may be utilized as inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to be recognized.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touch screen 112 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screen may display one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200. In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user may select one or more of the graphics by making contact or touching the graphics, for example, with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scale in the figure) or one or more styluses 203 (not drawn to scale in the figure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurs when the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In some embodiments, the contact may include a gesture, such as one or more taps, one or more swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward) and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upward and/or downward) that has made contact with device 100. In some embodiments, inadvertent contact with a graphic may not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweeps over an application icon may not select the corresponding application when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

Device 100 may also include one or more physical buttons, such as “home” or menu button 204. As described previously, menu button 204 may be used to navigate to any application 136 in a set of applications that may be executed on device 100. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on touch screen 112.

In one embodiment, device 100 includes touch screen 112, menu button 204, push button 206 for powering the device on/off and locking the device, volume adjustment button(s) 208, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card slot 210, head set jack 212, and docking/charging external port 124. Push button 206 may be used to turn the power on/off on the device by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressing the button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device 100 also may accept verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone 113.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with some embodiments. Device 300 need not be portable. In some embodiments, device 300 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device (such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device (e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 300 typically includes one or more processing units (CPU's) 310, one or more network or other communications interfaces 360, memory 370, and one or more communication buses 320 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 320 may include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects and controls communications between system components. Device 300 includes input/output (I/O) interface 330 comprising display 340, which is typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 330 also may include a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device) 350 and touchpad 355. Memory 370 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other random access solid state memory devices; and may include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory 370 may optionally include one or more storage devices remotely located from CPU(s) 310. In some embodiments, memory 370 stores programs, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs, modules, and data structures stored in memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG. 1), or a subset thereof. Furthermore, memory 370 may store additional programs, modules, and data structures not present in memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100. For example, memory 370 of device 300 may store drawing module 380, presentation module 382, word processing module 384, website creation module 386, disk authoring module 388, and/or spreadsheet module 390, while memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG. 1) may not store these modules.

Each of the above identified elements in FIG. 3 may be stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of the above identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described above. The above identified modules or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 370 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 370 may store additional modules and data structures not described above.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”) that may be implemented on portable multifunction device 100.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate exemplary user interfaces for a menu of applications on portable multifunction device 100 in accordance with some embodiments. Similar user interfaces may be implemented on device 300. In some embodiments, user interface 400A includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

Signal strength indicator(s) 402 for wireless communication(s), such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals;
Time 404;
Bluetooth indicator 405;
Battery status indicator 406;
Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:
- Phone 138, which may include an indicator 414 of the number of missed calls or voicemail messages;
- E-mail client 140, which may include an indicator 410 of the number of unread e-mails;
- Browser 147; and
- Music player 146; and
Icons for other applications, such as:
- IM 141;
- Image management 144;
- Camera 143;
- Video player 145;
- Weather 149-1;
- Stocks 149-2;
- Workout support 142;
- Calendar 148;
- Calculator 149-3;
- Alarm clock 149-4;
- Dictionary 149-5; and
- User-created widget 149-6.

In some embodiments, user interface 400B includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

402, 404, 405, 406, 141, 148, 144, 143, 149-3, 149-2, 149-1, 149-4, 410, 414, 138, 140, and 147, as described above;
Map 154;
Notes 153;
Settings 412, which provides access to settings for device 100 and its various applications 136, as described further below;
Video and music player module 152, also referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 152; and
Online video module 155, also referred to as YouTube (trademark of Google Inc.) module 155.

FIG. 4C illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device (e.g., device 300, FIG. 3) with a touch-sensitive surface 451 (e.g., a tablet or touchpad 355, FIG. 3) that is separate from the display 450 (e.g., touch screen 112). Although many of the examples which follow will be given with reference to inputs on touch screen 112 (where the touch-sensitive surface and the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detects inputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display, as shown in FIG. 4C. In some embodiments the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., 451 in FIG. 4C) has a primary axis (e.g., 452 in FIG. 4C) that corresponds to a primary axis (e.g., 453 in FIG. 4C) on the display (e.g., 450). In accordance with these embodiments, the device detects contacts (e.g., 460 and 462 in FIG. 4C) with the touch-sensitive surface 451 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display (e.g., in FIG. 4C contact 460 corresponds to location 468 and contact 462 corresponds to location 470). In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 460 and 462, and movements thereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., 451 in FIG. 4C) are used by the device to manipulate the user interface on the display (e.g., 450 in FIG. 4C) of the multifunction device when the touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display. It should be understood that similar methods may be used for other user interfaces described herein.

Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily with reference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures, finger swipe gestures), it should be understood that, in some embodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with input from another input device (e.g., a mouse based input or stylus input). For example, a swipe gesture may be replaced with a mouse click (e.g., instead of a contact) followed by movement of the cursor along the path of the swipe (e.g., instead of movement of the contact). As another example, a tap gesture may be replaced with a mouse click while the cursor is located over the location of the tap gesture (e.g., instead of detection of the contact followed by ceasing to detect the contact). Similarly, when multiple user inputs are simultaneously detected, it should be understood that multiple computer mice or other input devices may be used simultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts may be used simultaneously.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”) and associated processes that may be implemented on a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, such as device 300 or portable multifunction device 100.

FIGS. 5A-5T illustrate exemplary user interfaces for aligning and/or distributing objects in accordance with some embodiments. The user interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processes described below, including the processes in FIGS. 6A-6D and 7A-7D.

FIG. 5A illustrates a plurality of objects 5002 (e.g., user interface objects) on a display (e.g., touch screen 112), including a plurality of selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) and a plurality of unselected objects (e.g., 5002-5 and 5002-6). The plurality of objects 5002 are displayed while a first contact 5004 is detected on the display (e.g., touch screen 112).

FIGS. 5B-5C illustrate a user interface for selecting objects on a display. In FIG. 5B a plurality of unselected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, 5002-4, 5002-5 and 5002-6) are displayed and the device detects a first contact 5004 and a lasso gesture that includes detecting a second contact 5006 and detecting movement of the second contact 5006 in a substantially closed loop around one or more of the objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4). In FIG. 5C, the one or more objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) are displayed along with a visual indication that they are currently selected.

FIGS. 5C-5E illustrate a user interface for aligning objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5C, while detecting the first contact 5004, the device detects a second contact 5008 at a location that corresponds to a first object 5002-1 and a third contact 5010 at a location that corresponds to a second object 5002-4 and subsequently detects movement of the second contact 5008 and the third contact 5010 away from each other (e.g., either directly as illustrated by arrows 5009-1 in FIG. 5C, or in a de-pinch/pinch multi-part gesture where the contacts wiggle back and forth slightly, as illustrated by arrows 5009-2 in FIG. 5C, or in a de-pinch/pinch/de-pinch multi-part gesture as illustrated by arrows 5009-3 in FIG. 5C). In FIG. 5D the second contact and the third contact have moved away from each other (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5008-a to an updated location 5008-b and the third contact has moved from a respective location 5010-a to an updated location 5010-b). The device determines a contact axis 5012, which is also an object-alignment axis, as illustrated in FIG. 5D and repositions the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4) along the object alignment axis 5012, as illustrated in FIG. 5E.

FIGS. 5F-5H illustrate a user interface for aligning objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5F, while detecting the first contact 5004, the device detects a second contact 5014 at a location that is away from the objects 5002 and a third contact 5016 at a location that is away from the objects 5002 and subsequently detects movement of the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 away from each other. In FIG. 5G, the second contact and the third contact have moved away from each other (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5014-a to an updated location 5014-b and the third contact has moved from a respective location 5016-a to an updated location 5016-b). The device determines a contact axis 5018, which is also an object-alignment axis, as illustrated in FIG. 5G and repositions the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4) along the object alignment axis 5018, as illustrated in FIG. 5H.

FIGS. 5F-5G and 5I illustrate a user interface for aligning objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5F, while detecting the first contact 5004, the device detects a second contact 5014 at a location that is away from the objects 5002 and a third contact 5016 at a location that is away from the objects 5002 and subsequently detects movement of the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 away from each other. In FIG. 5G the second contact and the third contact have moved away from each other (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5014-a to an updated location 5014-b and the third contact has moved from a respective location 5016-a to an updated location 5016-b). The device determines a contact axis 5018, as illustrated in FIG. 5G. The device also determines an object-alignment axis 5020 that is distinct from, and parallel to, the contact axis 5018, and repositions the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4) along the object alignment axis 5020, as illustrated in FIG. 5I.

FIGS. 5I-5J illustrate a user interface for repositioning previously aligned objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5I, the device detects movement of the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 that corresponds to rotation of the contact axis 5018. In FIG. 5J, the second contact and the third contact have moved so as to rotate the contact axis (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5014-b to an updated location 5014-c and the third contact has moved from a respective location 5016-b to an updated location 5016-c). In response to detecting the rotation of the contact axis 5018, the device rotates the object-alignment axis 5020 so that the object-alignment axis remains parallel to the contact axis 5018, and repositions the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4) along the object alignment axis 5020, as illustrated in FIG. 5J.

FIGS. 5J-5K illustrate a user interface for changing spacing between previously aligned objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5J, the device detects movement of the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 towards each other. In FIG. 5K, the second contact and the third contact have moved towards each other (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5014-c to an updated location 5014-d and the third contact has moved from a respective location 5016-c to an updated location 5016-d), so that a distance between the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 has been reduced from a first distance to a second distance that is shorter than the first distance. In response to detecting the movement of the second contact and the third contact towards each other, the device reduces the spacing between the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4) along the object alignment axis 5020, in accordance with the change in distance between the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016, as illustrated in FIG. 5K.

FIGS. 5L-5M illustrate a user interface for selecting objects on a display. In FIG. 5L, a plurality of unselected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, 5002-4, 5002-5 and 5002-6) are displayed and the device detects a first contact 5022 and a lasso gesture that includes detecting a second contact 5024 and detecting movement of the second contact 5024 in a substantially closed loop around one or more of the objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6). In FIG. 5M, the one or more objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) are displayed along with a visual indication that they are currently selected (e.g., respective bounding boxes with resizing handles are displayed for respective currently selected objects).

FIGS. 5M-5N illustrate a user interface for aligning objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5M, the device detects a first contact 5026 at a location that corresponds to a first object 5002-4 and a second contact 5028 at a location that corresponds to a second object 5002-6 and subsequently detects movement of the second contact 5028 away from the first contact. In FIG. 5N, the second contact has moved away from the first contact (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5028-a to an updated location 5028-b). The device determines a contact axis 5030, which is also an object-alignment axis, and repositions the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) along the object alignment axis 5030, as illustrated in FIG. 5N.

FIGS. 5O-5Q illustrate a user interface for aligning objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5O, while detecting the first contact 5022 on the touch screen 112 at a location that is away from the objects 5002, the device detects a second contact 5032 at a location that is away from the objects 5002 and subsequently detects movement of the second contact 5032 in a swipe gesture away from the first contact 5022. In FIG. 5P, the second contact has moved away from the first contact (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5032-a to an updated location 5032-b). The device determines a contact axis 5034, as illustrated in FIG. 5P. The device also determines an object-alignment axis 5036 that is distinct from, and parallel to, the contact axis 5034, and repositions the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) along the object alignment axis 5036, as illustrated in FIG. 5Q.

FIGS. 5O-5P and 5R illustrate a user interface for aligning objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5O, while detecting the first contact 5022 on the touch screen 112 at a location that is away from the objects 5002, the device detects a second contact 5032 at a location that is away from the objects 5002 and subsequently detects movement of the second contact 5032 in a swipe gesture away from the first contact 5022. In FIG. 5P, the second contact has moved away from the first contact (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5032-a to an updated location 5032-b). The device determines a contact axis 5034, which is also an object-alignment axis, and repositions the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) along the object alignment axis 5034, as illustrated in FIG. 5R.

FIGS. 5R-5S illustrate a user interface for repositioning previously aligned objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5R, the device detects movement of the first contact 5022 that corresponds to rotation of the contact axis 5034. In FIG. 5S, the first contact has moved so as to rotate the contact axis (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5022-b to an updated location 5022-c). In response to detecting the rotation of the contact axis 5034, the object-alignment axis (which is the same as the contact axis) is also rotated. The device also repositions the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) along the object alignment axis 5034, as illustrated in FIG. 5S.

FIGS. 5S-5T illustrate a user interface for changing spacing between previously aligned objects in accordance with a gesture. In FIG. 5S, the device detects movement of the second contact 5022 and the third contact 5032 towards each other. In FIG. 5T, the second contact and the third contact have moved towards each other (e.g., the second contact has moved from a respective location 5022-c to an updated location 5022-d and the third contact has moved from a respective location 5032-c to an updated location 5032-d), so that a distance between the second contact 5022 and the third contact 5032 has been reduced from a first distance to a second distance that is shorter than the first distance. In response to the movement of the second contact and the third contact towards each other, the device reduces the spacing between the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) along the object alignment axis 5034, in accordance with the change in distance between the second contact 5022 and the third contact 5032, as illustrated in FIG. 5T.

In FIGS. 5L-5T, objects 5002-1, 5002-2, and 5002-3 are not selected, so these objects do not move in these figures. In particular, these objects are not aligned and are not distributed in response to the device detecting the gestures in FIGS. 5L-5T.

FIGS. 6A-6D are flow diagrams illustrating a method 600 of aligning and/or distributing objects in accordance with some embodiments. The method 600 is performed at a multifunction device (e.g., device 300, FIG. 3, or portable multifunction device 100, FIG. 1) with a display and a touch-sensitive surface. In some embodiments, the display is a touch screen and the touch-sensitive surface is on the display. In some embodiments, the display is separate from the touch-sensitive surface. Some operations in method 600 may be combined and/or the order of some operations may be changed.

As described below, the method 600 provides an intuitive way to align and/or distribute objects on a display. The method reduces the cognitive burden on a user when aligning and/or distributing objects, thereby creating a more efficient human-machine interface. For battery-operated multifunction devices, enabling a user to align and/or distribute objects faster and more efficiently conserves power and increases the time between battery charges.

The device displays (602) a plurality of objects 5002 on the display, as illustrated in FIG. 5A. In some embodiments, the subset of objects are (604) currently selected objects (e.g., objects 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4 in FIG. 5A), and the plurality of objects includes one or more unselected objects (e.g., objects 5002-5 and 5002-6 in FIG. 5A). In some embodiments, selected objects are visually distinguished from unselected objects. For example, in FIGS. 5A and 5C-5K, the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4 in FIG. 5A) are displayed with object resizing handles while the unselected objects (e.g., 5002-5 and 5002-6 in FIG. 5A) are displayed without object resizing handles. It should be understood that, in accordance with some embodiments, the objects are objects on a canvas of an electronic document authoring application (e.g., a presentation application, a spreadsheet application, a word processing application, a graphical image manipulation application, a desktop publishing application, etc.). Additionally, while the examples described herein are described primarily with reference to simple shape and text objects so as not to unnecessarily obscure relevant aspects of the disclosed embodiments, it should be understood that, in some embodiments, the objects 5002 could be virtually any repositionable objects that are displayed on a display of a multifunction device (e.g., icons, application windows, images, videos, tables, etc.).

The device detects (606) a first contact (e.g., 5004 in FIGS. 5A-5K) on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). In some embodiments, while detecting the first contact and before detecting the first gesture, the device detects (608) an object selection gesture. For example, in FIG. 5B, while detecting contact 5004 on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112 in FIG. 5B), the device detects a “lasso gesture” (e.g., movement of contact 5006 in a closed loop or a substantially closed loop, as illustrated in FIG. 5B) around a subset of objects (e.g., objects 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4 in FIG. 5B). It should be understood that other object selection gestures are contemplated, for example, the subset of objects could alternatively be selected in response to detecting a plurality of tapping gestures at locations on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112) that correspond to each of objects to be selected (e.g., objects 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4 in FIG. 5B).

In some embodiments, in response to detecting the object selection gesture while the first contact is detected, the device selects (610) the subset of objects. In some embodiments, if a gesture analogous to the selection gesture is detected while the first contact is not detected on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a lasso gesture is detected before the first contact is detected or after the first contact has ceased to be detected), the objects are not selected and, optionally the display is translated in accordance with the lasso gesture. Similarly, in some embodiments, if a gesture analogous to the object alignment gesture described below with reference to FIGS. 5C-5E; FIGS. 5F-5H; or FIGS. 5F-5G and 5I) is detected while the first contact is not detected on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a de-pinch gesture is detected after the first contact has ceased to be detected), the objects are not aligned and, optionally, the display is zoomed in accordance with the de-pinch gesture. In other words, in these embodiments, the first contact (e.g., 5004 in FIGS. 5B-5I) serves as a gesture modifier (e.g., modifying the action associated with the gesture) for both the selection gesture (described above with reference to FIG. 5B) and the alignment gesture (described below with reference to FIGS. 5C-5E; FIGS. 5F-5H; or FIGS. 5F-5G and 5I). In many circumstances, it is advantageous to use a single modifier gesture as a modifier for multiple different gestures that are commonly performed in conjunction with each other, because it enables a user of the device to simply maintain the modifier gesture when performing the gestures, thereby increasing the efficiency of the user's interaction with the device.

While detecting the first contact, the device detects (612) a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact (e.g., contacts 5008 and 5010 in FIGS. 5C-5E, or contacts 5014 and 5016 in FIGS. 5F-5K, respectively) on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). In some embodiments, the first contact is from a first hand and the second and third contacts are from a second hand (e.g., the gesture is a bimanual gesture including contacts associated with both the right hand and the left hand of a user of the multifunction device). In some embodiments, the first contact is identified as a particular type of contact (e.g., a thumb contact, or a contact of a left hand of a user of the multifunction device). Additionally, it should be understood that, in some embodiments, the device is capable of detecting many different multi-contact gestures and thus is configured to disambiguate between these multi-contact gestures. In some embodiments, the first gesture (i.e., the object alignment gesture described below) is distinguished from other gestures (e.g., a zoom-in or zoom-out gesture) based on an amount of time between the initial detection of the first contact and the initial detection of the second contact. For example, in some embodiments, when a first contact and a second contact are detected on the touch-sensitive surface substantially simultaneously (i.e., within a predefined time threshold such as 50 milliseconds, 100 milliseconds, 150 milliseconds or any other reasonable time threshold), and subsequent movement of the contacts away from/towards each other is detected, the device performs a zoom-in/zoom-out operation. In contrast, in this example, when a first contact and a second contact are detected on the touch-sensitive surface at different times (i.e., the time between initially detecting the first contact and initially detecting the second contact is greater than a predefined time threshold, such as 50 milliseconds, 100 milliseconds, 150 milliseconds or any other reasonable time threshold), and subsequent movement of the contacts as described below (e.g., a tap and hold gesture accompanied by a separate pinch/de-pinch gesture, which may incidentally include movement of the first contact away from/towards the second contact) is detected, the device aligns the objects in the subset of objects (as described in greater detail below) rather than performing a zoom operation.

In some embodiments, the first contact (e.g., 5004 in FIG. 5C) is continuously detected (614) on the touch-sensitive surface for a predetermined time period prior to detecting the first gesture. For example, in order for the gesture (e.g., the movement of contacts 5008 and 5010 from respective locations 5008-a and 5010-a in FIG. 5C to respective updated locations 5008-b and 5010-b in FIG. 5D, or the movement of contacts 5014 and 5016 from respective locations 5014-a and 5016-a in FIG. 5F to respective updated locations 5014-b and 5016-b in FIG. 5G) to be interpreted as an alignment gesture, the first contact 5004 must be maintained on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112) for at least the predetermined time period (e.g., 0.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, or any reasonable time threshold). In other words, in some embodiments, the first contact is a part of a tap-and-hold gesture that occurs prior to detecting the alignment gesture.

In some embodiments, the first gesture includes (616) movement of the second contact away from the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. For example, in FIGS. 5C-5D, the second contact 5008 and the third contact 5010 move away from each other in a de-pinch gesture (e.g., from respective locations 5008-a and 5010-a in FIG. 5C to respective updated locations 5008-b and 5010-b in FIG. 5D following either the path of arrows 5009-1, the path of arrows 5009-2, or the path of arrows 5009-3). As another example, in FIGS. 5F-5G, the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 move away from each other (e.g., from respective locations 5014-a and 5016-a in FIG. 5F to respective updated locations 5014-b and 5016-b in FIG. 5G) in a de-pinch gesture. While the examples described herein are described primarily with respect to a first gesture that is a de-pinch gesture, it should be understood that other gestures could be used in an analogous manner. For example, in some embodiments, the first gesture is a pinch gesture including movement of the second contact towards the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface. Additionally, it should be understood that, while in some embodiments the de-pinch gesture includes any de-pinch gesture (e.g., any movement of the first contact away from the second contact more than a predefined threshold distance on the touch-sensitive surface), in other embodiments first gesture is disambiguated from other similar gestures based on one or more predefined characteristics. In one embodiment, in order to be identified as an object alignment gesture, the first gesture includes a de-pinch gesture and further has one or more of the following characteristics: movement of the second contact away and the third contact away from each other at a speed that is above a predefined threshold speed (e.g., 2.5 centimeters/second, 5 centimeters/second, 10 centimeters/second, 15 centimeters/second, 25 centimeters/second or any reasonable speed), movement of both the second contact and the third contact (or, optionally movement of either the second contact or the third contact) across the touch-sensitive surface a distance (from an initial contact position of the contact to an updated contact position of the contact) that is within a predefined distance range (e.g., 0.5-4.0 centimeters, 1.0-4.0 centimeters, 1.0-2.5 centimeters, 0.5-2.5 centimeters, or any reasonable distance range), and movement of the second contact and/or the third contact back and forth (e.g., a de-pinch gesture followed by a pinch gesture as illustrated by the path of arrows 5009-2 in FIG. 5C, or a de-pinch gesture followed by a wiggle as illustrated by the path of arrows 5009-3 in FIG. 5C). Moreover, it should be understood that these characteristics may be used to disambiguate any of the object alignment gestures (e.g., the “first gesture” described below with reference to method 700) described herein from other gestures that are not associated with object alignment operations.

Operations 620-644 are performed (618) in response to detecting the first gesture (e.g., the de-pinch gesture including movement of the second contact 5008 and the third contact 5010 from respective locations 5008-a and 5010-a in FIG. 5C to respective updated locations 5008-b and 5010-b in FIG. 5D following either the path of arrows 5009-1, the path of arrows 5009-2, or the path of arrows 5009-3, or the de-pinch gesture including movement of the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 from respective locations 5014-a and 5016-a in FIG. 5F to respective updated locations 5014-b and 5016-b in FIG. 5G).

The device determines (620) a contact axis (e.g., 5012 in FIG. 5D or 5018 in FIG. 5G) based on a location of the second contact (e.g., 5008 in FIG. 5D or 5014 in FIG. 5G) relative to a location of the third contact (e.g., 5010 in FIG. 5D or 5016 in FIG. 5G) on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). In some embodiments, the contact axis is an axis between the second contact and the third contact (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5D and FIG. 5G). It should be understood that, typically the contact axis is not displayed on the display (e.g., touch screen 112), however in some embodiments, the contact axis may be displayed where it would be helpful to the user.

The device determines (622) an object-alignment axis (e.g., 5012 in FIG. 5E, 5018 in FIG. 5H, or 5020 in FIG. 5I) based on the contact axis. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface and the display are combined as a touch screen display (e.g., touch screen 112), and the contact axis is (624) the object-alignment axis. For example, in FIG. 5E, the contact axis 5012 is the object-alignment axis. As another example, in FIG. 5H, the contact axis 5018 is the object-alignment axis. It should be understood that, typically the object-alignment axis is not displayed on the display (e.g., touch screen 112), however in some embodiments, the object-alignment axis may be displayed where it would be helpful to the user.

In some embodiments, the contact axis (e.g., 5018 in FIG. 5I) is (626) distinct from the object-alignment axis (e.g., 5020 in FIG. 5I). In some of these embodiments, an angle of the object-alignment axis on the display corresponds (628) to an angle of the contact axis on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., the object-alignment axis is parallel to the contact axis on a touch screen, or an angle of the contact axis with respect to a primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to an angle of the object-alignment axis with respect to the primary axis of the display). For example, in FIG. 5I, the contact axis 5018 has an angle of approximately 37 degrees from the bottom edge of the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112) and the object-alignment axis 5020 has an angle of approximately 37 degrees from the bottom edge of the display (e.g., touch screen 112).

It should be understood that in some embodiments where the touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display, a bottom edge of the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch pad) is the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface, while a bottom edge of the display is a primary axis of the display. In some embodiments a primary axis of a display and/or the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface is predefined. In some embodiments the primary axis of the display and/or touch-sensitive surface is dynamically determined based on an accelerometer data (e.g., an edge of the display that is closest to the gravitational pull is identified as the bottom of the display and an edge of the touch-sensitive surface that is closest to the gravitational pull is identified as the bottom of the touch-sensitive surface). It should be understood that, in some embodiments, both the primary axis of the display and the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface are determined dynamically (e.g., based on accelerometer data), while in other embodiments the primary axis of the display is determined dynamically and the primary axis of the touch-sensitive display is predefined or the primary axis of the display is predefined and the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface is determined dynamically.

In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis includes (e.g., runs through) an average position (e.g., a “center of mass” or “centroid”) of the subset of currently selected objects on the display. In other words, in some embodiments, the position of the object-alignment axis (e.g., 5020 in FIG. 5I) on the display (e.g., touch screen 112) is determined based on positions of the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4 in FIG. 5H) on the display rather than locations of the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). For example, in FIG. 5I, the object-alignment axis 5020 is located proximate to an average position of the four selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3 and 5002-4 in FIG. 5H). In other words, the average position of the selected objects before the selected objects are aligned (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5G) is the same as the average position of the selected objects after the selected objects are aligned (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5I). In some embodiments, the contact axis is finite and extends between the second contact and the third contact, and the object-alignment axis is also finite and has a length that corresponds to a length of the contact axis (e.g., if the length of the contact axis increases by 50%, then the length of the object-alignment axis also increases by 50%). Optionally, when the object-alignment axis is finite, a center of the object-alignment axis corresponds to the average position of the subset of objects.

In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface is combined with the display as a touch screen (e.g., 112 in FIGS. 5H-5I), and the object-alignment axis (e.g., 5020 in FIG. 5I) is (630) parallel to the contact axis (e.g., 5018 in FIG. 5I) on the touch screen, as illustrated in FIG. 5I. In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis includes an average position of the subset of currently selected objects (e.g., selected objects 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) on the display, as described in greater detail above with reference to FIGS. 5H-5I.

In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis is (632) configured to snap to a plurality of predefined angles. In other words, when the current angle of the contact axis is within a predetermined rotational distance (e.g., 1 degree, 2 degrees, 5 degrees etc.) of a respective predefined angle (e.g., 0, 45, 90 degrees, etc.) from the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., the bottom of touch screen 112) the current angle of the object-alignment axis is defined to be the predefined angle from the primary axis of the display (e.g., the bottom of touch screen 112). For example, if the contact axis is at a 44 degree angle from the bottom of the touch-sensitive surface and the predetermined rotational distance is 1 degree, then the object-alignment axis will be at a 45 degree angle from the bottom of the display.

The device repositions (634) one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis. For example, in FIG. 5E, the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) are aligned along the object-alignment axis 5012, which is also the contact axis. As another example, in FIG. 5H the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) are aligned along the object-alignment axis 5018, which is also the contact axis. As yet another example, in FIG. 5I the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) are aligned along the object-alignment axis 5020, which is distinct from the contact axis 5018. It should be understood that, in some embodiments aligning an object along the object-alignment axis includes aligning a center of the object along the object-alignment axis, while in other embodiments, aligning an object along the object-alignment axis includes aligning a predefined portion of the object along the object-alignment axis (e.g., a bottom edge of the object, a bottom edge of a bounding box of the object, a top edge of the object, a top edge of a bounding box of the object, a user defined point on the object, etc.).

In some embodiments, when the touch-sensitive surface and the display are combined as a touch screen; and the contact axis is the object-alignment axis (e.g., 5012 in FIG. 5E or 5018 in FIG. 5I), repositioning one or more of the objects includes (636) moving a first object in the subset of objects to a location of the second contact on the touch screen; and moving a second object in the subset of objects to a location of the third contact on the touch screen. For example in FIG. 5E a first object 5002-1 has been moved to a location of the second contact 5008-b on the touch screen 112 while a second object 5002-4 has been moved to a location of the third contact 5010-b on the touch screen 112. As another example, in FIG. 5H, a first object 5002-1 has been moved to a location of the second contact 5014-b on the touch screen 112 while a second object 5002-4 has been moved to a location of the third contact 5016-b on the touch screen 112.

In some of these embodiments, the second contact is detected at a location on the touch screen 112 that corresponds (638) to a portion of the display that is away from all of the objects (e.g., does not include any objects); and the third contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to a portion of the display that is away from all of the objects (e.g., does not include any objects). For example, in FIG. 5F, the second contact 5014 is initially detected at a location 5014-a on the touch screen 112 that is away from all of the objects (e.g., does not include any of the objects 5002), and the third contact 5016 is also initially detected at a location 5016-a on the touch screen 112 that is away from all of the objects (e.g., does not include any of the objects 5002). Continuing this example, after detecting the de-pinch gesture (e.g., movement of the second contact 5014 away from the third contact 5016, as illustrated in FIGS. 5F-5G), the device moves all of the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) across the touch screen 112 to the contact axis 5018 between the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016, as illustrated in FIG. 5H.

In other ones of these embodiments, the second contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds (640) to the first object; and the third contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to the second object. For example, in FIG. 5C, the second contact 5008 is initially detected at a location 5008-a on the touch screen 112 that corresponds to the first object 5002-1, and the third contact 5010 is initially detected at a location 5010-a on the touch screen 112 that corresponds to the second object 5002-4. Continuing this example, after detecting the de-pinch gesture (e.g., movement of the second contact 5008 away from the third contact 5010, as illustrated in FIGS. 5C-5D), the device moves all of the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) across the touch screen 112 to the contact axis 5012 between the second contact 5008 and the third contact 5010, as illustrated in FIG. 5E.

In some embodiments, the selected objects are not distributed and are merely aligned along the object-alignment axis. For example, when the object-alignment axis is a horizontal line, the selected objects would be aligned horizontally (e.g., so that a center of each of the objects falls on the horizontal object-alignment axis), but would not be distributed along the object-alignment axis. In other words, in this example, the space between the selected objects on the horizontal axis before the objects were aligned would be the same as the space between the selected objects on the horizontal axis after the objects were aligned.

In some embodiments, repositioning the objects includes distributing (642) the objects along the object-alignment axis such that the centers of adjacent objects are equidistant from each other. In other words, in these embodiments, the objects are spaced along the object-alignment axis so that there is a uniform distance between a center of a respective object and the object(s) that are adjacent to the respective object.

In some embodiments, repositioning the objects includes distributing (644) the objects along the object-alignment axis such that the edges of adjacent objects are equidistant from each other. In other words, in these embodiments, the objects are spaced along the object-alignment axis so that the gap between an edge of a first object and an edge of a second object that is adjacent to the first object is the same as the gap between a different edge of the first object and an edge of a third object that is also adjacent to the first object. In some embodiments, an edge of a bounding box of an object is used instead of an edge of the object (e.g., for irregularly shaped objects which are displayed with a rectangular bounding box).

In some embodiments, operations 648-660 are performed (646) while continuing to detect the second contact (e.g., 5014 in FIGS. 5G and 5I-5K) and the third contact (e.g., 5016 in FIGS. 5G and 5I-5K) on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). In some embodiments, these operations are also performed while continuing to detect the first contact (e.g., 5004 in FIGS. 5G and 5I-5K) on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). In some embodiments, operations 648-660 are performed after the device has ceased to detect the first contact on the touch-sensitive surface. In other words, in these embodiments, the object alignment operation continues without regard to whether or not the first contact is maintained on the touch-sensitive surface. Thus, in some circumstances, the first contact is used to associate the first gesture and/or the second gesture with object alignment and/or distribution operations and the first contact does not need to be maintained after the gesture has been initiated and associated with the object alignment and/or distribution operations.

In some embodiments, the device detects (648) a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the second contact and the third contact. For example, in FIGS. 5I-5J, the device detects movement of the second contact (e.g., from a location 5014-b in FIG. 5I to an updated location 5014-c in FIG. 5J) and movement of the third contact (e.g., from a location 5016-b in FIG. 5I to an updated location 5016-c in FIG. 5J). As another example, in FIGS. 5J-5K, the device detects movement of the second contact (e.g., from a location 5014-c in FIG. 5J to an updated location 5014-d in FIG. 5K) and movement of the third contact (e.g., from a location 5016-c in FIG. 5J to an updated location 5016-d in FIG. 5K) towards each other in a pinching gesture. It should be understood that, in some embodiments, the first gesture and the second gesture are both part of a single continuous multi-part gesture. In other words, the initial object alignment gesture and the subsequent modification of the object alignment gesture are part of a linked sequence of contact movements (e.g., movements that occur without detecting a liftoff of either of the contacts and/or occur within a predetermined period of time from each other). In many circumstances it is advantageous to enable the user to perform a continuation of the alignment/distribution gesture to adjust the rotation of the object-alignment axis and/or the spacing of the objects (as described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 5I-5K) after the alignment and/or distribution operation has been performed, because it enables the user to modify the initial alignment and/or distribution without requiring the user to re-perform the entire alignment/distribution gesture, thereby improving the efficiency and speed of completing the alignment and/or distribution operation to the user's satisfaction.

In some embodiments, operations 652-660 are performed (650) in response to detecting the second gesture. In some embodiments, the device determines (652) an updated contact axis between the second contact and the third contact. For example, in FIGS. 5I-5J, after detecting movement of the second contact (e.g., from a location 5014-b in FIG. 5I to an updated location 5014-c in FIG. 5J) and movement of the third contact (e.g., from a location 5016-b in FIG. 5I to an updated location 5016-c in FIG. 5J), the device rotates the contact axis 5018, as illustrated in FIGS. 5I-5J. It should be understood that, while the example described above involves movement of both contacts (e.g., the second contact and the third contact), in some embodiments only one of the contacts (e.g., the second contact or the third contact) moves to an updated location, while the other contact remains in its previous location. In some embodiments, the device determines (654) an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis. For example, in FIG. 5J the object-alignment axis 5020 is rotated as compared to the object-alignment axis 5020 in FIG. 5I. As another example, in FIG. 5K the spacing between objects on the object-alignment axis 5020 is reduced as compared to the spacing between objects on the object-alignment axis 5020 in FIG. 5J. In some of these embodiments, the object-alignment axis is rotated (656) in accordance with the second gesture. For example, in FIG. 5I the object-alignment axis 5020 is parallel to the contact axis 5018, and in FIG. 5K after the contact axis 5018 has been rotated, the object-alignment axis 5020 is also rotated so that it is parallel to the rotated contact axis 5018 in FIG. 5J.

In some embodiments, the device repositions (658) one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis. For example, in FIG. 5J, the selected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, 5002-3, and 5002-4) are repositioned on the display (e.g., touch screen 112) so that they are aligned with the object-alignment axis 5020 (which has been rotated, as described in greater detail above). In some of these embodiments, spacing between the objects (e.g., spacing between centers of the objects, spacing between edges of the objects, etc.) is changed (660) in accordance with a change in the location of the second contact relative to the location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface in accordance with the second gesture. For example, in going from FIG. 5J to FIG. 5K, the distance between the second contact 5014 and the third contact 5016 decreases by approximately 50%. Consequently, the device reduces the spacing between the objects by approximately 50%, as illustrated in FIG. 5K.

In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis is finite, and the length of the object-alignment axis is based on the distance between second contact and third contact. In some embodiments, when the distance between the second contact and the third contact changes, the device adjusts the length of the object-alignment axis (and the spacing between the objects on the object-alignment axis) proportionally to the change in distance between the second contact and third contact (e.g., when the distance between the second contact and the third contact increases by 20%, the spacing between the objects increases by 20%). In some embodiments, the change in the object-alignment axis length is equal to or substantially equal to the change in distance between the second contact and the third contact. For example, when the distance between the second contact and the third contact increases by 2 centimeters, the length of the object-alignment axis is increased by 2 centimeters and the spacing between the objects is increased accordingly (e.g., if there three objects the spacing between the first object and the second object is increased by 1 centimeter and the spacing between the second object and the third object is increased by 1 centimeter).

FIGS. 7A-7D are flow diagrams illustrating a method 700 of aligning and/or distributing objects in accordance with some embodiments. The method 700 is performed at a multifunction device (e.g., device 300, FIG. 3, or portable multifunction device 100, FIG. 1) with a display and a touch-sensitive surface. In some embodiments, the display is a touch screen and the touch-sensitive surface is on the display. In some embodiments, the display is separate from the touch-sensitive surface. Some operations in method 700 may be combined and/or the order of some operations may be changed.

As described below, the method 700 provides an intuitive way to align and/or distribute objects. The method reduces the cognitive burden on a user when aligning and/or distributing objects, thereby creating a more efficient human-machine interface. For battery-operated multifunction devices, enabling a user to align and/or distribute objects faster and more efficiently conserves power and increases the time between battery charges.

The device displays (702) a plurality of objects on the display. In some embodiments, the subset of objects are (704) currently selected objects (e.g., objects 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6 in FIG. 5M), and the plurality of objects includes one or more unselected objects (e.g., objects 5002-1, 5002-2, and 5002-3 in FIG. 5M). In some embodiments, selected objects are visually distinguished from unselected objects. For example, in FIGS. 5M-5T, the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6 in FIGS. 5M-5T) are displayed with object resizing handles, while the unselected objects (e.g., 5002-1, 5002-2, and 5002-3 in FIGS. 5M-5T) are displayed without object resizing handles. It should be understood that, in accordance with some embodiments, the objects are objects on a canvas of an electronic document authoring application (e.g., a presentation application, a spreadsheet application, a word processing application, a graphical image manipulation application, a desktop publishing application, etc.). Additionally, while the examples described herein are described primarily with reference to simple shape and text objects so as not to unnecessarily obscure relevant aspects of the disclosed embodiments, it should be understood that, in some embodiments, the objects 5002 could be virtually any repositionable objects that are displayed on a display of a multifunction device (e.g., icons, application windows, images, videos, tables, etc.).

In some embodiments, the device detects a first contact (e.g., contact 5022 in FIGS. 5L and 5O-5T) on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). In some embodiments, while detecting the first contact and before detecting the first gesture, the device detects (706) an object selection gesture. For example, in FIG. 5L, while detecting contact 5022-a on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112 in FIG. 5L) the device detects a “lasso gesture” (e.g., movement of contact 5024 in a closed loop or a substantially closed loop, as illustrated in FIG. 5L) around a subset of objects (e.g., objects 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6 in FIG. 5L). It should be understood that other object selection gestures are contemplated, for example, the subset of objects could alternatively be selected in response to detecting a plurality of tapping gestures at locations on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112) that correspond to each of objects to be selected (e.g., objects 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6 in FIG. 5L).

In some embodiments, in response to detecting the object selection gesture while the first contact is detected, the device selects (708) the subset of objects. In some embodiments, if a gesture analogous to the selection gesture is detected while the first contact is not detected on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a lasso gesture is detected after the first contact has ceased to be detected), the objects are not selected and, optionally the display is translated in accordance with the lasso gesture. Similarly, in some embodiments, if a gesture analogous to the object alignment gesture described below with reference to FIGS. 5M-5N; FIGS. 5O-5Q; or FIGS. 5O-5P and 5R is detected while the first contact is not detected on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a single contact swipe gesture is detected before the first contact is detected or after the first contact has ceased to be detected), the objects are not aligned and, optionally, the display is zoomed in accordance with the de-pinch gesture. In other words, in these embodiments, the first contact (e.g., 5022 in FIGS. 5L-5R) serves as a gesture modifier (e.g., modifying the action associated with the gesture) for both the selection gesture (described above with reference to FIG. 5L) and alignment gesture (described below with reference to FIGS. 5M-5N; FIGS. 5O-5Q; or FIGS. 5O-5P and 5R). In many circumstances, it is advantageous to use a single modifier gesture as a modifier for multiple different gestures that are commonly performed in conjunction with each other, because it enables a user of the device to simply maintain the modifier gesture when performing the gestures, thereby increasing the efficiency of the user's interaction with the device.

The device detects (710) a first gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, where the first gesture includes a first contact and a second contact (e.g., contacts 5026 and 5028 in FIGS. 5M-5N, or contacts 5022 and 5032 in FIGS. 5O-5R, respectively). In some embodiments, the first contact is from a first hand and the second contact is from a second hand (e.g., the gesture is a bimanual gesture including contacts associated with both the right hand and the left hand of a user of the multifunction device). In some embodiments, the first contact is identified as a particular type of contact (e.g., a thumb contact, or a contact of a left hand of a user of the multifunction device). Additionally, it should be understood that, in some embodiments, the device is capable of detecting many different multi-contact gestures and thus is configured to disambiguate between these multi-contact gestures. In particular, in some embodiments, the first gesture (i.e., the object alignment gesture described below) is distinguished from other gestures (e.g., a zoom-in or zoom-out gesture) based on an amount of time between the initial detection of the first contact and the initial detection of the second contact. For example, in some embodiments, when a first contact and a second contact are detected on the touch-sensitive surface substantially simultaneously (i.e., within a predefined time threshold such as 50 milliseconds, 100 milliseconds, 150 milliseconds or any other reasonable time threshold), and subsequent movement of the contacts away from/towards each other is detected, the device performs a zoom-in/zoom-out operation. In contrast, in this example, when a first contact and a second contact are detected on the touch-sensitive surface at different times (i.e., the time between initially detecting the first contact and initially detecting the second contact is greater than a predefined time threshold such as 50 milliseconds, 100 milliseconds, 150 milliseconds or any other reasonable time threshold), and subsequent movement of the first contact and second contact away from each other is detected, the device aligns the objects in the subset of objects (as described in greater detail below) rather than performing a zoom operation.

In some embodiments, the first contact (e.g., 5026 in FIG. 5M or 5022 in FIG. 5O) is continuously detected (712) on the touch-sensitive surface for a predetermined time period prior to detecting the first gesture. For example, in order for the gesture (e.g., the movement of contacts 5028 from a respective location 5028-a in FIG. 5M to respective updated location 5028-b in FIG. 5N or the movement of contact 5032 from a respective location 5032-a in FIG. 5O to respective updated location 5032-b in FIG. 5P) to be interpreted as an alignment gesture, the first contact 5022 must be maintained on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112) for at least the predetermined time period (e.g., 0.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, 2 seconds, or any reasonable time threshold). In other words, in some embodiments the first contact is a part of a tap-and-hold gesture that occurs prior to detecting the alignment gesture.

In some embodiments, the first gesture includes: detecting (714) the first contact on the touch-sensitive surface for a predetermined amount of time; and detecting (716) movement of the second contact away from the first contact on the touch-sensitive surface. For example, in FIG. 5M, the device detects contact 5026 at a location on the touch screen 112 that corresponds to a location of an object 5002-4 for more than 1 second and subsequently detects a second contact 5028 on the touch screen 112 and detects movement of the contact (e.g., from a respective location 5028-a in FIG. 5M to an updated location 5028-b in FIG. 5N) away from the first contact 5026. As another example, in FIG. 5O, the device detects contact 5022 at a location on the touch screen 112 that is away from any of the objects 5002 (e.g., that does not correspond to locations of any of the objects) for more than 1 second and subsequently detects a second contact 5032 on the touch screen 112 and detects movement of the contact (e.g., from a respective location 5032-a in FIG. 5O to an updated location 5032-b in FIG. 5P) away from the first contact 5022. While the examples described herein are described primarily with respect to a first gesture that is a combination of a single-contact tap and hold gesture with a single-contact swipe gesture, it should be understood that other gestures could be used in an analogous manner. For example, in some embodiments, the first gesture is a combination of a two-contact tap and hold gesture and a de-pinch gesture including movement of the two contacts away from each other or a two-contact tap and hold gesture and single-contact swipe gesture away from the two contacts.

Operations 720-744 are performed (718) in response to detecting the first gesture (e.g., a gesture including movement second contact 5028 away from the first contact 5026 from a respective location 5028-a in FIG. 5M to a respective updated location 5028-b in FIG. 5N or a gesture including movement of the second contact 5032 away from the first contact 5022 from respective location 5032-a in FIG. 5O to respective updated location 5032-b in FIG. 5P).

The device determines (720) a contact axis (e.g., 5030 in FIG. 5N or 5034 in FIG. 5P) based on a location of the first contact (e.g., 5026-b in FIG. 5N or 5022-b in FIG. 5P) relative to a location of the second contact (e.g., 5028-b in FIG. 5N or 5032-b in FIG. 5P) on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). In some embodiments, the contact axis is an axis between the first contact and the second contact (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5M and FIG. 5P). It should be understood that, typically the contact axis is not displayed on the display (e.g., touch screen 112), however in some embodiments, the contact axis may be displayed where it would be helpful to the user.

The device determines (722) an object-alignment axis (e.g., 5030 in FIG. 5N, 5036 in FIG. 5Q, or 5034 in FIG. 5R) based on the contact axis. In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface and the display are combined as a touch screen 112; and the contact axis is (724) the object-alignment axis. For example, in FIG. 5N, the contact axis 5030 is the object-alignment axis. As another example, in FIG. 5R, the contact axis 5034 is the object-alignment axis. It should be understood that, typically the object-alignment axis is not displayed on the display (e.g., touch screen 112), however in some embodiments, the object-alignment axis may be displayed where it would be helpful to the user.

In some embodiments, the contact axis (e.g., 5034 in FIG. 5Q) is distinct (726) from the object-alignment axis (e.g., 5036 in FIG. 5Q). In some of these embodiments, an angle of the object-alignment axis on the display corresponds to (728) an angle of the contact axis on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., the object-alignment axis is parallel to the contact axis on a touch screen, or an angle of the contact axis with respect to a primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to an angle of the object-alignment axis with respect to the primary axis of the display). For example, in FIG. 5P, the contact axis 5034 is approximately parallel to the bottom edge of the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112) and the object-alignment axis 5020 is approximately parallel to the bottom edge of the display (e.g., touch screen 112).

It should be understood that in some embodiments where the touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display, a bottom edge of the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch pad) is the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface, while a bottom edge of the display is a primary axis of the display. In some embodiments a primary axis of a display and/or the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface is predefined. In some embodiments the primary axis of the display and/or touch-sensitive surface is dynamically determined based on an accelerometer data (e.g., an edge of the display that is closest to the gravitational pull is identified as the bottom of the display and an edge of the touch-sensitive surface that is closest to the gravitational pull is identified as the bottom of the touch-sensitive surface). It should be understood that, in some embodiments, both the primary axis of the display and the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface are determined dynamically (e.g., based on accelerometer data), while in other embodiments the primary axis of the display is determined dynamically and the primary axis of the touch-sensitive display is predefined or the primary axis of the display is predefined and the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface is determined dynamically.

In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis includes (e.g., runs through) an average position (e.g., “center of mass,” “centroid”) of the subset of currently selected objects on the display. In other words, in some embodiments, the position of the object-alignment axis (e.g., 5036 in FIG. 5Q) on the display (e.g., touch screen 112) is determined based on positions of the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6 in FIG. 5Q) on the display rather than locations of the first contact 5022 and the second contact 5032 on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112). For example, in FIG. 5Q the object-alignment axis 5036 is located proximate to an average position of the three selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6 in FIG. 5Q). In other words, the average position of the selected objects before the selected objects are aligned (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5P) is the same as the average position of the selected objects after the selected objects are aligned (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5Q). In some embodiments, the contact axis is finite and extends between the first contact and the second contact, and the object-alignment axis is also finite and has a length that corresponds to a length of the contact axis (e.g., if the length of the contact axis increases by 50%, then the length of the object-alignment axis also increases by 50%). Optionally, when the object-alignment axis is finite, a center of the object-alignment axis corresponds to the average position of the subset of objects.

In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface is combined with the display as a touch screen (e.g., 112 in FIGS. 5O-5Q), and the object-alignment axis (e.g., 5036 in FIG. 5O-5Q) is (730) parallel to the contact axis (e.g., 5034 in FIG. 5Q) on the touch screen, as illustrated in FIG. 5I. In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis includes an average position of the subset of currently selected objects (e.g., selected objects 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) on the display, as described in greater detail above with reference to FIGS. 5O-5Q.

In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis is (732) configured to snap to a plurality of predefined angles. In other words, when the current angle of the contact axis is within a predetermined rotational distance (e.g., 1 degree, 2 degrees, 5 degrees etc.) of a respective predefined angle (e.g., 0, 45, 90 degrees, etc.) from the primary axis of the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., the bottom of touch screen 112) the current angle of the object-alignment axis is defined to be the predefined angle from the primary axis of the display (e.g., the bottom of touch screen 112). For example, if the contact axis is at a 44 degree angle from the bottom of the touch-sensitive surface and the predetermined rotational distance is 1 degree, then the object-alignment axis will be at a 45 degree angle from the bottom of the display.

The device repositions (734) one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis. For example, in FIG. 5N the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) are aligned along the object-alignment axis 5030, which is also the contact axis. As another example, in FIG. 5Q the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) are aligned along the object-alignment axis 5036, which is distinct from the contact axis 5034. As yet another example, in FIG. 5R the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) are aligned along the object-alignment axis 5034, which is also the contact axis. It should be understood that, in some embodiments aligning an object along the object-alignment axis includes aligning a center of the object along the object-alignment axis, while in other embodiments, aligning an object along the object-alignment axis includes aligning a predefined portion of the object along the object-alignment axis (e.g., a bottom edge of the object, a bottom edge of a bounding box of the object, a top edge of the object, a top edge of a bounding box of the object, a user defined point on the object, etc.).

In some embodiments, when the touch-sensitive surface and the display are combined as a touch screen; and the contact axis is the object-alignment axis (e.g., 5030 in FIG. 5N or 5034 in FIG. 5R), repositioning one or more of the objects includes (736): moving a first object in the subset of objects to a location of the first contact on the touch screen; and moving a second object in the subset of objects to a location of the second contact on the touch screen. For example in FIG. 5N a first object 5002-4 has been moved to a location of the first contact 5026-b on the touch screen 112 while a second object 5002-6 has been moved to a location of the second contact 5028-b on the touch screen 112. As another example, in FIG. 5R, a first object 5002-4 has been moved to a location of the second contact 5022-b on the touch screen 112 while a second object 5002-6 has been moved to a location of the second contact 5032-b on the touch screen 112.

In some of these embodiments, the first contact is detected (738) at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to a portion of the display that is away from all of the objects (e.g., does not include any objects); and the second contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to a portion of the display that is away from all of the objects (e.g., does not include any objects). For example, in FIG. 5O, the first contact 5022 is initially detected at a location 5022-a on the touch screen 112 that is away from all of the objects (e.g., does not include any of the objects 5002), and the second contact 5032 is also initially detected at a location 5032-a on the touch screen 112 that is away from all of the objects (e.g., does not include any of the objects 5002). Continuing this example, after detecting the swipe gesture (e.g., movement of the second contact 5032 away from the first contact 5022, as illustrated in FIGS. 5O-5P), the device moves all of the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) across the touch screen 112 to the contact axis 5034 between the first contact 5022 and the second contact 5032, as illustrated in FIG. 5R.

In some embodiments, first contact is detected (740) at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to the first object; and the second contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to the second object. For example, in FIG. 5M, the first contact 5026 is initially detected at a location 5026-a on the touch screen 112 that corresponds to the first object 5002-4, and the second contact 5028 is initially detected at a location 5028-a on the touch screen 112 that corresponds to the second object 5002-6. Continuing this example, after detecting the swipe gesture (e.g., movement of the second contact 5028 away from the first contact 5026, as illustrated in FIGS. 5M-5N), the device moves all of the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) across the touch screen 112 to the contact axis 5030 between the first contact 5026 and the second contact 5028, as illustrated in FIG. 5N.

In some embodiments, the selected objects are not distributed and are merely aligned along the object-alignment axis. For example, when the object-alignment axis is a horizontal line, the selected objects would be aligned horizontally (e.g., so that a center of each of the objects falls on the horizontal object-alignment axis), but would not be distributed along the object-alignment axis. In other words, in this example, the space between the selected objects on the horizontal axis before the objects were aligned would be the same as the space between the selected objects on the horizontal axis after the objects were aligned.

In some embodiments, repositioning the objects includes distributing (742) the objects along the object-alignment axis such that the centers of adjacent objects are equidistant from each other. In other words, in these embodiments, the objects are spaced along the object-alignment axis so that there is a uniform distance between a center of a respective object and the object(s) that are adjacent to the respective object. In some embodiments, repositioning the objects includes distributing (744) the objects along the object-alignment axis such that the edges of adjacent objects are equidistant from each other. In other words, in these embodiments, the objects are spaced along the object-alignment axis so that the gap between an edge of a first object and an edge of a second object that is adjacent to the first object is the same as the gap between a different edge of the first object and an edge of a third object that is also adjacent to the first object. In some embodiments, an edge of a bounding box of an object is used instead of an edge of the object (e.g., for irregularly shaped objects which are displayed with a rectangular bounding box).

Operations 748-760 are performed (746) while the first contact (e.g., 5022 in FIGS. 5P and 5R-5T) and the second contact (e.g., 5032 in FIGS. 5P and 5R-5T) continue to be detected on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch screen 112).

The device detects (748) a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the first contact and the second contact. For example, in FIGS. 5R-5S, the device detects movement of the first contact (e.g., from a location 5022-b in FIG. 5R to an updated location 5022-c in FIG. 5S). As another example, in FIGS. 5S-5T, the device detects movement of the first contact (e.g., from a location 5022-c in FIG. 5S to an updated location 5022-d in FIG. 5T) and movement of the second contact (e.g., from a location 5032-c in FIG. 5S to an updated location 5032-d in FIG. 5T) towards each other in a pinching gesture. It should be understood that, in some embodiments, the first gesture and the second gesture are both part of a single continuous multi-part gesture. In other words, the initial object alignment gesture and the subsequent modification of the object alignment gesture are part of a linked sequence of contact movements (e.g., movements that occur without detecting a liftoff of either of the contacts and/or occur within a predetermined period of time from each other). In many circumstances it is advantageous to enable the user to perform a continuation of the alignment/distribution gesture to adjust the rotation of the object-alignment axis and/or the spacing of the objects (as described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 5R-5T) after the alignment and/or distribution operation has been performed, because it enables the user to modify the initial alignment and/or distribution without requiring the user to re-perform the entire alignment/distribution gesture, thereby improving the efficiency and speed of completing the alignment and/or distribution operation to the user's satisfaction.

Operations 752-760 are performed (750) in response to detecting the second gesture. The device determines (752) an updated contact axis based on an updated location of the first contact relative to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface. For example, in FIGS. 5R-5S, after detecting movement of the first contact (e.g., from a location 5022-b in FIG. 5R to an updated location 5022-c in FIG. 5S), the device rotates the contact axis 5034, as illustrated in FIGS. 5R-5S. It should be understood that, while the example described above involves movement of only one of the contacts (e.g., the first contact) while the other contact (e.g., the second contact) remains in its previous location, in some embodiments, both of the contacts (e.g., the first contact and the second contact) move to updated locations. The device determines (754) an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis. For example, in FIG. 5S, the object-alignment axis 5034 is rotated as compared to the object-alignment axis 5034 in FIG. 5R. As another example, in FIG. 5T, the spacing between objects along the object-alignment axis 5034 is reduced as compared to the spacing between objects along the object-alignment axis 5034 in FIG. 5S. In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis is rotated (756) in accordance with the second gesture. For example, in FIGS. 5R-5S, the object-alignment axis 5034 is the contact axis and thus the rotation of the object-alignment axis 5034 is identical to the rotation of the contact axis.

The device repositions (758) one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis. For example, in FIG. 5S, the selected objects (e.g., 5002-4, 5002-5, and 5002-6) are repositioned on the display (e.g., touch screen 112) so that they are aligned with the object-alignment axis 5034 (which has been rotated, as described in greater detail above). In some of these embodiments, spacing between the objects (e.g., spacing between centers of the objects, spacing between edges of the objects, etc.) is changed (760) in accordance with a change in the location of the first contact relative to the location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface in accordance with the second gesture. For example, in going from FIG. 5S to FIG. 5T, the distance between the first contact 5022 and the second contact 5032 decreases by approximately 50%. Consequently, the device reduces the spacing between the objects by approximately 50%, as illustrated in FIG. 5T.

In some embodiments, the object-alignment axis is finite, and the length of the object-alignment axis is based on the distance between first contact and second contact. In some embodiments, when the distance between the first contact and the second contact changes, the device adjusts the length of the object-alignment axis (and the spacing between the objects on the object-alignment axis) proportionally to the change in distance between the first contact and second contact (e.g., when the distance between the first contact and the second contact increases by 20%, the spacing between the objects increases by 20%). In some embodiments, the change in the object-alignment axis length is equal to or substantially equal to the change in distance between the first contact and the second contact. For example, when the distance between the first contact and the second contact decreases by 3 centimeters, the length of the object-alignment axis is decreased by 3 centimeters and the spacing between the objects is decreased accordingly (e.g., if there three objects the spacing between the first object and the second object is decreased by 1.5 centimeter and the spacing between the second object and the third object is decreased by 1.5 centimeter).

The operations in the information processing methods described above may be implemented by running one or more functional modules in information processing apparatus such as general purpose processors or application specific chips. These modules, combinations of these modules, and/or their combination with general hardware (e.g., as described above with respect to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 3) are all included within the scope of protection of the invention.

The operations described above with reference to FIGS. 6A-6D, 7A-7D may be implemented by components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1C. For example, detection operation 606, selection operation 610, and repositioning operation 634 may be implemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190. As another example, detection operation 706, selection operation 708, and repositioning operation 734 may be implemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190. Event monitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the event information to application 136-1. A respective event recognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the event information to respective event definitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a first location on the touch-sensitive surface corresponds to a predefined event or sub-event, such as selection of an object on a user interface. When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with the detection of the event or sub-event. Event handler 190 may utilize or call data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the application internal state 192. In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by the application. Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on the components depicted in FIGS. 1A-1C.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

1. A multifunction device, comprising:

a display;

a touch-sensitive surface;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: displaying a plurality of objects on the display; detecting a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface; while detecting the first contact, detecting a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; and, in response to detecting the first gesture: determining a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the subset of objects are currently selected objects, and the plurality of objects includes one or more unselected objects.

3. The device of claim 1, including instructions for, while detecting the first contact and before detecting the first gesture:

detecting an object selection gesture; and

in response to detecting the object selection gesture while the first contact is detected, selecting the subset of objects.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the first contact is continuously detected on the touch-sensitive surface for a predetermined time period prior to detecting the first gesture.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the first gesture includes movement of the second contact away from the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the touch-sensitive surface and the display are combined as a touch screen; and

the contact axis is the object-alignment axis.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein repositioning one or more of the objects includes:

moving a first object in the subset of objects to a location of the second contact on the touch screen; and

moving a second object in the subset of objects to a location of the third contact on the touch screen.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein:

the second contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to a portion of the display that does not include any objects; and

the third contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to a portion of the display that does not include any objects.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein:

the second contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to the first object; and

the third contact is detected at a location on the touch screen that corresponds to the second object.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the contact axis is distinct from the object-alignment axis.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein:

an angle of the object-alignment axis on the display corresponds to an angle of the contact axis on the touch-sensitive surface; and

the object-alignment axis includes an average position of the subset of objects on the display.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the object-alignment axis is configured to snap to a plurality of predefined angles.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein repositioning the objects includes distributing the objects along the object-alignment axis such that the centers of adjacent objects are equidistant from each other.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein repositioning the objects includes distributing the objects along the object-alignment axis such that the edges of adjacent objects are equidistant from each other.

15. The device of claim 1, including instructions for, while continuing to detect the second contact and the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface:

detecting a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the second contact and the third contact; and,

in response to detecting the second gesture: determining an updated contact axis between the second contact and the third contact; determining an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein, the object-alignment axis is rotated in accordance with the second gesture.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein, spacing between the objects is changed in accordance with a change in the location of the second contact relative to the location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface in accordance with the second gesture.

18. A method, comprising:

at a multifunction device with a touch-sensitive surface and a display: displaying a plurality of objects on the display; detecting a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface; while detecting the first contact, detecting a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; and, in response to detecting the first gesture: determining a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

19. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to:

display a plurality of objects on the display;

detect a first contact on the touch-sensitive surface;

while detecting the first contact, detect a first gesture that includes movement of a second contact and a third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; and,

in response to detecting the first gesture: determine a contact axis based on a location of the second contact relative to a location of the third contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determine an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and reposition one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis.

20. A multifunction device, comprising:

a display;

a touch-sensitive surface;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: displaying a plurality of objects on the display; detecting a first gesture on the touch-sensitive surface, where the first gesture includes a first contact and a second contact; in response to detecting the first gesture: determining a contact axis based on a location of the first contact relative to a location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an object-alignment axis based on the contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align at least a subset of the objects on the display along the object-alignment axis; and, while the first contact and the second contact continue to be detected on the touch-sensitive surface: detecting a second gesture that includes movement of one or more of the first contact and the second contact; and, in response to detecting the second gesture: determining an updated contact axis based on an updated location of the first contact relative to an updated location of the second contact on the touch-sensitive surface; determining an updated object-alignment axis based on the updated contact axis; and repositioning one or more of the objects so as to align the subset of objects on the display along the updated object-alignment axis.